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"It's a head-scratcher, looking at it from the outside," Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power & Associates, told us. "There are so many battery-electric products being developed, and to date there are not a lot of sales."

Recent predictions from industry analysts make the situation even more of a puzzler. In November, J.D. Power released a study forecasting miniscule BEV sales numbers. The 2012 Electric Vehicle Ownership Experience Study predicted battery-electrics would make up less than 1 percent of all vehicles sold in the US in 2015. Lux Research and Pike Research have also published dire forecasts for pure EVs and EV batteries in the past year.

Nevertheless, there are reasons for the growing parade of BEVs. Some automakers (including Nissan and Tesla, to name two) are true believers in the potential of the all-electric market. But even for those that may just be testing the waters, there are good reasons for rolling out pure electric cars. They include legal compliance, government subsidies, manufacturability, and a dash of practicality.

"Part of it is there's a risk to being last to the party," Kevin See, an industry analyst for Lux Research, told us. "So while most of us believe it's too early, it's preferable to do it now, rather than miss it altogether."

...

Analysts also say the automakers building compliance cars want to be ready if battery technology makes a sudden leap forward. Until then, they're treading lightly. "The bottom line is that the technology is not a slam dunk," See said. "That's why they need to keep looking for the innovation that could make it happen."

A genius for sure:cursing: How many sales were there for "horseless carriages" when horses were the primary mode of transportation? If we had used that standard to predict the development of gas powered cars we would have been sure that they were doomed to fail. It amazes me how so many "experts" fail to see what's staring them in the face.

The thing I find funnier and funnier as each day passes is that the other manufacturers have yet to figure out that the electric drive is simply superior.
It is more efficient, smoother, quieter, easier to maintain, and the performance is simply incompatible.
Add to that it is much smaller, without the need for secondary systems such as the exhaust, fuel injection, etc systems and all of a sudden you have a much safer car, which also has a lot more usable space for passengers or cargo, or both.

Instead of trying to cram a big enough battery pack into a poor foundation, they should be designing cars using the strengths the electric drive naturally give you.

Oh, and if that isn't enough, it just happens to get you under any CAFE standards/regulations as an after affect, without even trying.

But hey, the longer it takes the other guys to figure it out, the better it is for my stock in Tesla;-)

This *is* the Executive Summary of the Regulation(s)- whew!!. Guessing that these Regulations now constitute the 'rational basis' for clean air controls that were lacking before.

Anyone know 'AT PZEV' vs PZEV?? Appears to be no Glossary here.

Toyota needs 2500 'range to 200 mile' BEVs - guess that refers to the Rav4/Tesla kit-car program. Would that Subaru request the same from Tesla, but insist the car retain the full-time AWD. Subaru probably not a 'large' mfr.
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AT PZEV is Advanced Technology Practically Zero Emissions Vehicle. To be AT you have to be a hybrid, fuel-cell, or really anything without just an ICE. With just the PZEV, being hybrid isn't mandatory. What it appears is that the AT-PZEV folks didn't just want to copy California's terminology and so invented their own--as if it were better.

So puzzling that folks can't wrap their head around this - EV's are the future, they're just far superior to ICE. Even though there are so many articles out there (like the one referenced prior) that tend to question the market itself, it's refreshing to see a few recent ones that celebrate the opportunity in a big way... like this one (TSLA stock holders rejoice) that was just published yesterday, naming Tesla one of the "10 Stocks to hold forever" - predicting a very, very bright future:Cyprus Trouble and 10 Forever Stocks Tesla Motors - Cabot Heritage Corporation

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